Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 163

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432

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terprises of merit. Mr. Richardson developed a farm of eight hundred acres, where he resided until 1899, when he retired to private life in the village of Drayton.

Our subject was married, in 1862, to Miss Ann Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson have been the parents of eleven children, in order of birth as fol- lows: Elizabeth E., now Mrs. William Halfpenny ; Mary, now Mrs. Thomas McDonald; Ellis, now Mrs. T. F. Newans; Thomas, engaged in farming ; Saralı E., deceased ; Elmer, a law student ; Robert, engaged in farming ; William, also an agriculturist ; Joseph, deceased ; Anna B. and Harold, deceased. Mr. Richardson took a seat in the constitutional convention at Bismarck in 1889 and held the office of state representative in the first general assembly. He was an active Farmers' Alliance man and be- came a prominent leader of the new party in county and state, and in 1896 was placed at the head of the state ticket by his party, and in the race for govern- orship carried the full force of his party's ballot, but failed of election. He is now retired from active life and is non-partisan politically and a strict prohibitionist. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and the Ancient Order of United Workinen.

ST. ANTHONY'S MISSION, which is con- dueted by Rev. Dupont, is located about three miles west of Laureat, Rolette county. It was estab- lished in April, 1887, by Rev. Father Schollen, and during the first summer a log building was erected for the services. Sister Catherine donated about twelve hundred dollars for that purpose. The building as then erected is now in use. It is on the southern edge of the Turtle Mountain reservation, and the original church membership consisted of about twenty white families and twenty familes of Indians and half breeds. Father Barette assumed charge of the parish in 1889 and he was followed by Father Delage in 1891, and Father Malo was in charge shortly afterwards. The present pastor, Father Dupont, took charge of the work in July, 1898.

Father Dupont was born near Montreal, Can- ada, October 23, 1852, and was the oldest in a family of sixteen children born to Elie and Mary (Gadbois) Dupont, both of whom are living in the state of Minnesota. At the age of thirteen years our subject entered the College of St. Teresa and completed a five-years course, which was followed by a theological course at Ottawa University, and he was ordained a priest in 1880. He was sent at once to western Manitoba, to Pine Creek, three hun- dred miles west of Winnipeg, and there among the Chippewa and Creek Indians established churches and taught his religion. Once each year he visited Winnipeg for provisions, and for fifteen years lived among the Indians with no white people within miles. He established five churches, and also es- tablished two English schools and did a noble work

there. He was placed in charge of the work at Bel- court Mission in 1895, and from there assumed his present duties at St. Anthony's Mission, and the charge includes also the parish of Belcourt and the parish of Maryville. The last named parish was established by Rev. Dupont in 1897, and a church was erected and forty families are in attendance. Our subject reports a remarkable change since 1895. morally, among the reservation Indians, and a true adoption of the faith.

EDWARD J. McMAHON is well known as a successful attorney and enterprising citizen of Hope, North Dakota. He is a native of Minnesota and was born in Faribault January 10, 1859.

The parents of our subject, Thomas and Bridget (Shanahan ) McMahon, were natives of New York and Maine respectively. His father was a con- tractor and acted in that capacity in the early days and as foreman on the construction of the Erie Rail- road. He afterward removed to Iowa and was su- perintendent of the stone quarries at Mt. Pleas- ant, which furnished the stone for building the in- sane asylum at that place. In the fall of 1856 he went to Minnesota, secured land and engaged in farming near Faribault, where he resides with his wife at the present time. Our subject comes of a prominent family, the illustrious French marshal of that name being his second cousin.

Mr. McMahon was the second in a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, and when a boy worked on the home farm and attended the public schools with his brothers and sisters. He later attended the Shattuck Military School at Faribault, and graduated there in 1877 and then re- turned to the farm where he made his home until 1882. From 1880 to 1882 he studied law with Case & Gipson, of Faribault, and was admitted to the bar May 2, 1882. He then went to Hope, North Dakota, and began the practice of his profession, in which he was most successful. He removed to Min- neapolis, Minnescota, in 1889. continuing his practice there until the breaking out of the Spanish-Ameri- can war in 1898. His military ardor was awakened and he joined the Fifteenth Minnesota Infantry as first lieutenant and proceeded with his regiment to Georgia. Their services were not needed in Cuba, however, and he was mustered out April 27, 1899. As a private citizen he proceeded to Florida and from thence to Cuba and spent the summer of 1899 in those places. He returned north the same year and again went to Hope, North Dakota, and re- sumed his practice, and is permanently located there and enjoys an ever increasing business.

Our subject was married, November 1, 1897, to Ella M. Vedder, of Rochester, Minnesota. Mr. McMahon was the first county attorney of Griggs county, in 1882, and was appointed by the commis- sioners before the county was divided. He assisted in the organization of Steele county, and was the first register of deeds, when Hope was the county

EDWARD J. McMAHON.

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seat of Steele county. He is a Republican in poli- tics, and has attended state, territoral and national conventions on behalf of his party to which he is a stanch adherent. £ He has a large library of law books, is well educated, a genial gentleman, and de- servedly popular with the people. The reader will be interested in studying his portrait found in this work.

PEDER O. AAFEDT. Prominent among the agriculturists who have made farming a success in Grand Forks county, may be mentioned Mr. Aafedt, whose comfortable home is located on section . 6, Inkster township. He was a pioneer farmer of the northwestern portion of the county, and has been successful.

Mr. Aafedt was born on the farm Aafedt, in Fedeosdalen, Bergenstift, Norway, April 26, 1845. He was the eldest of three sons born to Ole and Sarah (Sigri) Aafedt, and when he was twenty-one years of age he came to America, and located in Winnishiek county, Iowa, where he was employed at farm work about three years. He then came to Dickinson county, in that state, and in 1881 came to Dakota, bringing with him twenty-five head of cattle and three head of horses. After a two days' stop at Minto he proceeded to Forest river, and lo- cated between the north and south forks of that stream. Money was scarce, and he was compelled to rely wholly upon his stock for a living. It was the third year before he succeeded in raising a crop. He erected a log house, 16x24 feet, and proceeded to improve his property. The old house still serves him as a home. He took up but one quarter-section from the government, having purchased the re- mainder of his holdings, and he is now the owner of nine hundred and sixty acres of excellent lands in Grand Forks and Walsh counties. He has a good barn, 36x64 feet, and other convenient and neces- sary outbuildings, and has enhanced the value of his farın by modern improvements and good machinery.

Mr. Aafedt was married, in 1871, to Miss Ger- trude Skatteboe, and to this union ten children were born, as follows: Sarah, Ole, Celia, Leonard, Charles, Mary, Julia, Peder, Emma and Henry. Mrs. Aafedt died in 1893. She was a native of Nor- way, and as a wife and inother lived a model life. Her faithful assistance to her husband in the pioneer days in Grand Forks county is worthy the heroic women of her native land. She shared the hard- ships incident to pioneer life without a complaint, and ably seconded the efforts of her husband in the establishment of their home. She was loved, and her loss was mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

Mr. Aafedt is a Republican in political views, and has taken a commendable interest in local po- litical matters. He has for two years been a mem- ber of the board of supervisors. He is a commu- nicant of the Lutheran church, and is a model citi- zen and a valued member of the community.

JOHN D. ALLEN, leading taxidermist of North Dakota, is a resident and business man of Mandan, where he has resided for many years, and has a fine establishment, with a valuable collection of curios.

Mr. Allen was born in Steuben county, New York, April 20, 1851. His father, M. P. Allen, was a furniture dealer and cabinet maker, and spent the first twenty-eight years of his life in the state of New York. . He went to Ohio in 1853, and thence to Michigan and engaged in the furniture business, where he still resides. The mother of our sub- ject, whose maiden name was Nancy K. Cook, was born in New York, where her marriage occurred. She died when our subject was but seven years of age.

John D. Allen was the eldest in a family of three children. He grew to manhood in the village of Paw Paw, Michigan, and attended the public schools. At the age of twenty-one years he entered into partnership with his father in the furniture business. This connection continud one year, when, in 1873, he opened a taxidermist's shop in Paw Paw. The business grew steadily until he left Paw Paw in 1877. He then located in Denver, Colorado, and continued the taxidermist business for three years there. He then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he took a position as stenog- rapher for the general manager of the Northern Pacific Railway, General H. E. Sargent, and con- tinued in that position until the spring of 1881. In May of that year he came to Mandan as timekeeper for the railway shops. This position he resigned about the middle of the summer. He was relieved in the autumn, and then, after spending some time in exploring Indian mounds and gathering curios, went east on a visit, returning to Mandan in the fall of 1882, when he established his present busi- ness. He owns a fine residence in the best part of the city. His workshops adjacent are commodious and well arranged, consisting of three floors, each 20x40 feet. His collections of birds and Indian curios are very valuable and the most extensive in the country. His acquaintance with trappers and hunters throughout the west and northwest enables him to secure the best specimens extant. W. S. Barrows was associated with him for some time. They made an extensive exhibit at the New Orleans exposition and at the Yellowstone National Park. They also conducted branch stores at St. Paul, Minnesota, and at Dickinson, North Dakota, for several years.

Mr. Allen was married, February 3, 1890, to Nellie A. Wilson. Mrs. Allen is a native of the state of New York and is of English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have one child, a daughter, Ila K., born May 21, 1891. Mr. Allen is a Republican in po- litical views, and is a member of four fraternal or- ganizations : The Independent Order of Foresters, Knights of the Maccabees, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Brotherhood of . Ameri- can Yeomen.

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EVAN B. GOSS, who has done so much for the promotion of the best interests of Bottineau county, and especially of the thrifty young city of Bottineau, of which he is a well-known resident, was born in Kent county, Michigan. His father, Benson Goss, was a farmer, and reared his boy to a life on the farm. He was of Irish extraction, though born in the state of New York. The fam- ily crossed the ocean four generations ago and set- tled in the Empire state, and there they remained until Benson Goss sought a home in Michigan. The mother of Benson Goss bore the maiden name of Sophia Blackstone, and she married into a fam- ily represented in New York and Vermont. The maternal ancestors came from Germany and Scot- land, and the grandmother bore the strongly Scotch name of Matilda McMillan. She married John Nutter, a farmer and carpenter, and was a woman of character and strength for that far away time.

Evan B. Goss is the oldest in a family of four children reared on the farm and was inured to hard work. He was a close student, and his father afforded him opportunity for a good education. He attended the local school and the Rockford ( Michi- gan) high school, from which he was graduated when sixteen years of age. He was a student in the literary department of the University of Michi- gan, and was graduated from the law department of that university in 1894, receiving the usual de- gree of LL. B. Further studies the next year brought him the degree of master of laws. In 1894 and 1895 he practiced law in Grand Rapids, Michi- gan, having an office with Walter Hughs, an attor- ney of some prominence in that part of the state. He came to North Dakota in the closing days of 1895 and established a law office in Bottineau, be- ginning business the first of the new year. Bot- tineau was not nearly as large as it is to-day, and many discouragements waited on the young at- torney. He held on, and is now enjoying the re- ward of persistence.

He was married, in 1898, to Miss Lou Wright. She was born in Canada, though her parents were old settlers in the Red river valley. Her father, Isaac Wright, was widely known on the old front- ier and had many friends among the pioneers. She was an experienced school teacher, and had taught in many different localities. Mr. Goss is a Repub- lican, and was elected as state's attorney in the fall of 1896. He had already been appointed to that position, and in the discharge of its duties has won many friends. He has commended himself to the public by his manifest ability and honorable spirit, and has already won a very large patronage. Like most professional and commercial men he is largely interested in farming, and owns a half-section of land, two hundred and sixty acres being under cul- tivation and the balance pasture and meadow. He has put up farm buildings such as the place re- quires, and is proud of his farm. He owns con- siderable real estate in and around Bottineau, where he has a cosy and inviting home. A. G. Durr, an

old settler in Bottineau, and the subject of this article were class-mates, room-mates and chums at Ann Arbor while making their way through the university. Mr. Goss owns one of the largest and most important law libraries in the state. It cost over twenty-five hundred dollars and is insured for fifteen hundred dollars.

PETER BEATTIE. This gentleman, in com- pany with his son James, owns and operates a fine farm in section 34, of Rich township, and is one of the substantial men of Cass county. He is a foreign-born citizen, but is devoted to the better interests of his adopted land and as an early settler of North Dakota has been useful in upbuilding and sustaining the agricultural interests of that state, and has gained an enviable name as a citizen and farmer.

Our subject was born in Roxburghshire, Scot- land, August 1, 1834. His parents, John and Isa- belle (Scott) Beattie, were natives of Scotland, and his father was a shepherd and followed the same in his native land throughout his career.

Our subject was one of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, and is the only member of the family in the United States. He was reared and educated in Scotland and worked as a shepherd there until 1881, when he emigrated to America and went direct to North Dakota, filing a claim to land on which he now resides. He and his son now own one and a half sections of land, and have met with success as farmers.

Our subject was married in Scotland, June 5, 1857, to Mary Scott, a native of the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Beattie are the parents of two sons and two daughters, as follows: Ellen, now Mrs. Martin, of Cass county; John, residing in Empire township, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere ; Isabelle, now Mrs. W. J. Thompson, of Page City ; and James, who is associated with his father. Mr. Beattie is a Republican in political sentiment. He has filled various official positions in his township including chairman of the township board, and he is an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church. A group portrait of our subject and his wife, which lends interest to this sketch, will be found elsewhere in these pages.

JAMES BEATTIE, the youngest son of our subject, was born in Scotland, February 1, 1867, and assisted his father there and emigrated with his parents to America and with them located in North Dakota. He is prominent in public affairs and has served as town clerk, and assessor for the past three years and school treasurer eight years. He holds mem- bership in the A. O. U. W., and M. W. of A.

DR. FRED J. DUGGAN, the pioneer physi- cian and surgeon of Grand Forks, has a well-estab- lished and lucrative practice and is one of the fore- most men of his calling in the state. He was born

PETER BEATTIE AND WIFE.

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at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 14, 1850, and was a son of Patrick and Susan ( Fawcett ) Duggan.

The parents of our subject were natives of Ire- land and went to Canada about 1842 or 1843. The father was a farmer and spent the rest of his life in Canada. Four sons were born to this worthy couple, of whom two are now residents of North Dakota.

Mr. Duggan was reared in Toronto and received his education there, graduating from the normal school in 1870. He then engaged in teaching five years in Canada, and began reading medicine while thus engaged, and in 1874 entered the Victoria Medical College. After spending one year there the college closed and he then entered the Toronto School of Medicine, which was connected with the Toronto University, from which he graduated in 1878. He then passed an examination before the College of Physicians and Surgeons and was licensed to practice by them the same year. He spent two years in Canada and in 1880 went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and has continued the practice of his profession there since that date, and enjoys the distinction of being the oldest resident physician of that city. He has followed a general practice and has met with unbounded success. He is a member of the North Dakota Medical Society, and is prominent in affairs of his profession.

Our subject was married, in 1878, to Mary A. O'Riley, a native of Canada. Six sons and five daughters have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Duggan. Our subject is a gentleman of broad mind, and takes an active interest in local affairs of a public nature and casts his influence for good local government and the upbuilding of the better interests, social and financial, in the city of Grand Forks, and his success and high standing are well merited.

JOHN W. WRIGHT, whose valuable farm is located in section 25. Sarnia township, Nelson coun- ty, is justly entitled to mention as one of the most thorough agriculturists of the county.

Mr. Wright is 'a native of Washington coun- tv, Minnesota, where he was born August 27, 1861. He was the third child and only son of Thomas and Mary (Allibone) Wright. The mother died in 1867, when our subject was but six years old. The father re-married, and of the second family there were six children. The father was one of the pio- neers of Washington county, Minnesota, and still resides at Detroit, in that state.

Our subject was reared on a farm in Washing- ton county, Minnesota, and in 1878 went with the family to Ottertail county, of that state. He owned an eighty-acre farm there, and made that his home until 1886. In July of that year he went to North Dakota, first locating at Hope, Steele coun- ty, where he worked on a farm until 1887. In the spring of that year he came to Nelson county and rented a farm of L. B. Ray. Here he remained

for about six years, but in the meantime had, in 1889, filed a homestead claim to the tract of land upon which his present home is situated. He sub- sequently purchased three hundred and twenty acres more, and is to-day the owner of one of the most valuable pieces of property in the county. He gives considerable attention to stock, and is regarded as one of the well-to-do citizens of the county.

When Mr. Wright was but nineteen years old, when living in Ottertail county, he was married to Miss Amy A. Baker. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright five children have been born, namely: Robert L., now a teacher ; Willis E., at home; Asa B., Thomas L. and Guy Adrian, deceased.

In political views Mr. Wright is a Republican, and supports the principles of that party with steady loyalty. He is not an office seeker, but takes a lively interest in the questions of good government. He has held the office of assessor, and has always proved himself a valuable member of the commun- ity where he has resided. He is a member in good standing of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

HANS H. ROTHGARN, the proprietor of an elegant Dakota farm in township 159 north, and range 76 west, McHenry county, was born on a farm in the province of Holstein, Schleswig, Ger- many, July 4, 1862, where his father, Claus Roth- garn, owned a house and small tract of land. Hans was the fourth in a family of five children. He attended school until the age of sixteen and re- ceived a fair education-as good as could be ex- pected in the public schools. When he was six- teen he left the parental home and for a couple of years worked out for the neighboring farmers. When he was eighteen he crossed the ocean and came directly west to Olmsted county, Minnesota, where he did farm work for the next six years. His father, mother and sister came on to Minne- sota in 1882 and settled with their oldest son on a farm, where his mother, Elsabea (Lehman) Rothgarn, died in 1886.

Mr. Rothgarn made his appearance in North Dakota in 1886 and located near Grafton, where he worked until the first of November of that year. The winter of that year he traveled through Mc- Henry and Bottineau counties and picked out his present location, and almost immediately made his homestead claim after determining where he would settle. Putting up a log cabin, and there in com- pany with his father and brother, he spent some time "baching it." He put up a sod barn and 'granary, and did the first work with oxen. In 1887 our subject and his brother harvested their first crop of wheat, six hundred bushels from twenty acres of ground. In 1887 they threshed and har- vested in the Red river valley.

Mr. Rothgarn was married to Miss Sarah Hoffmann, January 11, 1888. She was born in Olmsted county, Minnesota, and her father, Charles Hoffmann, is a farmer of that county. He

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was born in Germany, but came to this country at an early date. She is the mother of five children, all born in North Dakota: Hubert, Richard, Charlie, Andrew and Grace. She has helped her husband to make a model home in the western prairies. Mr. Rothgarn bought a team of horses in 1888, and looked upon them as tangible evidence of success. In 1895 he had eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight bushels of wheat and twenty-eight hundred bushels of oats-all from a half-section of land. It was a phenomenal yield and it put our subject beyond the reach of want. To-day he owns a farm of eight hundred acres, with at least a full section under cultivation. Part of his farm is situated on the Mouse river, and affords excellent hay meadows and timber land. He has good farm buildings, and his house is a first-class frame house, two stories high. His barn, wagon sheds, machine sheds and granaries are all as they should be for a well-conducted farm. There is a fine grove of trees around the house, and plenty of small fruit on the place. Take it all in all it is one of the largest, most complete and best cultivated farms in this section of the state. Mr. Rothgarn is finding his way into cattle raising, and he believes in diversified farming. He is a Republican and was elected on the county board in 1897, and has been chairman of the board for the past two years. He has held several town offices since coming into the county, and is much inter- ested in political matters. He is widely known as one of the wealthiest farmers in this part of the state, and has made it all by hard work and wise economy.

HORACE L. DICKINSON. In the multi- plicity of business enterprises in which Mr. Horace L. Dickinson has embarked he has invariably met with prosperity and is one of the successful business men of Dickinson, Stark county, North Dakota. He was born on a farm in Frankin county, New York, February 6, 1839.

Horace Dickinson, the father of the subject of this biography, was born in Vermont, and was a blacksmith by trade and later in life followed farming. The mother, whose maiden name was Maria Lawrence, died when young Horace was but three weeks of age. She was of American descent.

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Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 163

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle Number of Pages: 1432

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432